Social Media Usage Pattern and Its Impact on Academic Performance of Public-Sector Medical Students

Introduction: Social media plays a vital role in students' lives, providing connectivity and access to information while posing distraction risks. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate social media usage patterns and their impact on academic performance among medical students in Lahore. Place and Duration of study: This study took place in public sector medical colleges of Lahore in 6 months from April to September 2024. Material & Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted among 150 medical students of different medical colleges including KEMU, AMC, FJMU, AIMC, SIMS & SKZMDC selected through convenience sampling in Lahore. Data collected through the questionnaire included demographics, social media usage patterns, and academic performance indicators. The impact of social media usage on academic performance was determined by applying Chi-square with statistical significance determined at a p-value of less than 0.05. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 27. Results: Regarding social media use specifically for academic purposes, YouTube was the most popular platform, used by 119 participants (79.3%) followed by WhatsApp by 54 participants (36%). Average screen time of over 4 hours per day was reported by 78.7%, with maximum before going to bed (96%) and over the weekend (77.3%), main uses were entertainment in 86.7% and academics in 54.7%. Only one variable spending more than 04 academically directed hours on social media led to better examination performance in the male gender (p value<0.05). Conclusion: The male gender spending more than 04 hours on social media for educational purposes had a positive impact on academic performance